As soon as Cain and Abel returned from the tomb they jumped straight into work. Abel, who recently accepted Cain's identity and what that meant for his reality, chose to trust Cain and his plan.
Cain's master plan could be broken down into five central parts
1. Sell tomb spoils
2. Purchase Technique's
3. Strengthen the body
4. Strengthen the mana core
5. Study
Cain's plan was basic and very easy to understand. That's why Abel agreed to follow it. Those four things were things that Abel planned to do anyway. If Cain could help Abel speed up the process, he was all for it.
But before they could do anything, they had to sell all the items they earned in the Tomb. So, Cain and Abel journeyed to the Flame Clans capital, Smolden.
The Flame Clan is one of the main clans that make up the Union. The Union is a powerhouse. It's the strongest governing body in the human domain. It is probably the most democratic nation in all of Akyrous.
While most of the other races are being controlled by a sovereign or monarch, the union is led by the Five clans.
The Clan of Fire- The Drakes, Rulers of the East
The Clan of Water- The Frieza's, Rulers of the South
The Clan of Earth- The Fauna's Rulers of the West
The Clan of Wind- The Levan's, Rulers of the North
And finally, the most prominent and powerful clan
The Clan of Light- The Reverends, Rulers of Central
The Five clans are the descendants of the five heroes who saved the world and established the union, hundreds of years ago. The Five heroes were champions chosen by the elemental gods to battle the demon invasion. It took a lot of time and sacrifice, but in the end, they succeeded. To reward their effort, the Gods they served blessed their bloodline with power and great elemental affinity.
In honor of the gods, each clan supports the religion of each god. They allow the religions to practice their beliefs and preach to believers in their own territory. Occasionally there are conflicts of interest, but those are solved internally.
Every main clan is in complete control of its territory. Each clan decides on its own laws and how it wants to implement them. The only universal laws are the ones set by the Union's sore government. The clans, along with their branch families, propose laws for their region that the people can vote on.
Cain would compare this type of government to the American system of federal laws and state laws where each state has its own unique laws but still has to follow federal law.
The system is an excellent source of pride for the clans who claim that the Union is the only true beacon of freedom and equality.
Abel couldn't agree less. You need to be an awakener to vote or have any say in government. To 95% of people, It's not considered a real issue, but for the remaining 5%, it's a huge problem.
That law makes it seem that people who aren't awakeners are sub-human. They don't get a say in how they live or are treated. People using normal humans as slave labor is all too common. The union doesn't bat an eye. They don't see them as humans but as things.
From a young age, Abel could tell all the talk about equality and justice was all bullshit propaganda.
The truth of the union is that although they project unity and freedom, without power or money, you're better off dead.
...
Getting off the train, both Cain and Abel were utterly blown away.
The capital was magnificent. The streets were huge and packed with cars easily worth thousands of UC. The sidewalks were bustling with hundreds of people. Abel had never seen so many people in his life.
Starring at all the citizens walking shoulder to shoulder, he smirked. This reminded him of the time he ate a pack of sardines. Each person squished together like fish in a can.
'That's city life, I guess.'
Moving himself from that amusing train of thought, he walked further into the city but was stopped in his tracks.
Looking up, Abel saw buildings so tall that they seemed to touch the sky. He wasn't a complete bumpkin. He had seen skyscrapers on the internet before. But seeing it in person was a completely different experience.
Compared to the wasteland, it was like night and day. It truly deserved to be one of humanity's most outstanding achievements.
Abel stood there gawking like an idiot for quite a while. He finally woke from his stupor when he noticed the strange looks people were giving him.
Cain charmed in with his ever-useful and positive perspective
("It's because you look like you just went dumpster diving.")
Abel went silent. He had no rebuttal. Technically, dumpster diving had been his profession for upwards of a year.
("Ignore them. We have some shopping to do!")
Cain was overly excited. He was ecstatic that he finally got to explore a city he'd only read about. Even if he had to do it as a backseat driver, he dragged Abel to various stores and establishments.
Their first and most important stop was to find buyers for their plants.
Cain and Abel were being extra cautious. They wanted to ensure they didn't arouse suspicion with how many rare plants they were selling. So they made sure to only sell a set amount to each botany store and alchemy lab they visited.
After they ensured their actions didn't raise suspicion, they sold the rest of their supply.
Putting together all the money they made selling the plants and some of the other miscellaneous things they found, they made around 1.7 million UC!
When Abel first saw that number in my bank account, He was overwhelmed with an almost euphoric sense of bliss. He felt all those years of digging through trash and putting up with bullshit were worth it.
Until an evil money-hungry parasite curb stomped his joy.
("We're going to save 500,000 and spend the rest on investments.")
Hearing Cain's brutal plan to throw his precious money down the drain, Abel grew furious and started trying to enter his mindscape to kick his ass.
("The Hell are you doing?")
"If you so much as breathe on my money, I'm gonna go up there and shove my foot up your ass."
Ables's attitude amused Cain.
("You're welcome to try, but the only way to enter your mindscape is to advance to Rank 4. So you're just wasting our precious time.")
Cain was right, and Abel knew it, so he stopped his pointless retaliation.
"You better hope I don't reach Rank 4 then."
Knowing that Abel wasn't going to let it go, Cain tried to put his worries to rest.
("You wanna make more money, right?")
"....I do"
("Of course you do! And I know how to get it relatively easily. If you trust Mr. Transmigrator, you'll get way more than your money back. Okay?")
"fine."
Abel stood there silently. Investing money in what Cain told him to. He used his money to buy stock after stock as he watched his 1.7 million get smaller and smaller and smaller until he was left with only 500,000.
Confirming that the money was gone and that he'd never see it again, he shed a silent tear.
Cain just chuckled at Abel's antics.
("C'mon drama queen, it's time for step two.")
The next step in Cain's plan was to buy suitable techniques. Techniques are a core part of strength for awakeners. Techniques allow Awakeners to utilize mana in a stronger and more flexible way. The difference between an awakener with a technique and one without was like night and day.
Suffice it to say that they are one of the core pillars of an awakener's strength.
There are millions of different unique techniques out there. Each with a different purpose. There were movement techniques, weapon techniques, and even magic techniques. The variety is endless.
All Techniques are split up into five tiers or stars. one-star being the weakest while five-star being the strongest. The rankings are dependent on how powerful their potential is.
Cain knew that the amount of money they had would only be enough for a couple of low-rated techniques that we're barely worth it. Luckily he knew of a place where they could pick up a quality technique for dirt cheap.
...
Abel was starting to get a little worried. Cain said that he knew of a top-quality technique seller, but they kept passing all the fancy technique shops; instead, Cain was bringing him toward the lower end of the city.
Eventually, they stopped on the edge of the slums.
Abel stopped in front of an old worn-out bookstore. It was a stark contrast to the majesty of the buildings in the central square.
Trying to put Abel's mind at ease, Cain assured him
("Trust me. This place may not look like much, but they've got a top-quality product!")
"Whatever you say."
Walking into the shop, Abel was hit with the smell of books and mold. The store was filled with bookshelves all packed with books. Looking around, he spotted a desk on the side, where he saw an older woman reading a book.
The woman didn't greet Abel or even bother looking up from her book. Abel looked around a little more and found the bookshelf labeled "Techniques"
Reaching the bookshelf, Abel noticed it was extremely bare. He counted at most four manuals.
"Better than nothing, I guess"
Abel sighed to himself and picked up the first Technique
{ ★ Basic Sword Technique }
'one-star. How disappointing'
("Who cares. Grab it.")
Abel was a little shocked.
"This one? Really?"
("Beggars can't be choosers.")
Not being able to argue, Abel did as he said and put it in his bag.
Abel grabbed all of the other techniques they had, but Cain didn't seem satisfied with them.
("Ignore those.")
"Didn't you just say beggars can't be choosers?"
("Shut up. I don't know what's going on. It should be here.")
Abel was confused at what Cain was looking for
"What are we looking for?"
Cain seemed to be getting stressed.
("A 3-Star technique! It should have been on the rack, but It's not here! In a couple of weeks from now, the shop owner will realize one of her books is actually a rare technique and put it up for sale. I wanted to get that technique before she realizes" )
"Did she find it in the Technique section?"
Cain paused for a second, then exclaimed
("You're a genius! See if you can find it with Observe")
Abel Obliged Cain's request and used his skill. The same bright light clouded his eyes again, but this time, something stuck out.
Everything was giving off a white light except for one book that was glowing blue. Curious, He focused my gaze on it.
===
Item: {★★★ Fox Trot} (Sealed)
Description: This technique was created by the ??? Beast men tribe, to teach them???? How to ????. It was sealed by a powerful ???? to ???????.
A movement technique. It provides a 10% speed boost to the user. The increase lasts for 10 seconds. The boost speed and duration will be extended upon further mastery. To unseal, you must circulate your mana through pages 18, 30, 58, 69, 123, and 148
Weakness: Fire
Grade: Rare
===
"Holy shit"
("Holy shit indeed.")
Abel immediately rushed over there and grabbed it. But, when he looked at the book cover, it differed from what the skill window said.
The cover read 'Magical Creatures and where to find them!'.
"That's a shitty title."
("Didn't you read the description? It's been sealed.")
"Circulate my mana through the pages? What a pain in the ass."
(" We'll do it when we get home. Buy it first")
"Fine."
Abel grabbed the book and walked up to the woman at the counter.
The woman glanced up at Abel and finally put her book down.
Abel put the two books on the counter. She looked at the books he was buying and lost interest.
"31,023 UC for both."
For a one-star technique, the price was a little steep, but Abel could live with it since he was buying something that would have made her a lot of money.
Abel gave her the credits. Her apathetic demeanor lifted for a brief moment before quickly returning.
"Anything else?"
"No thanks."
Abel grabbed his books and quickly walked out the door. Abel left the store and avoided prying eyes to ensure no one was watching.
Once He confirmed he was alone, a huge smile bloomed on his face. In a very excited voice, he asked Cain.
"What's next?"